New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS): Out of the 766 districts in India, 732 districts have reported themselves as manual scavenging-free, Ramdas Athawale, Union Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, said on Tuesday.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Athawale said that under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban 2.0), “funds amounting to Rs 371 Crore have been approved for release to states to be provided to smaller towns to acquire the machines and improve their state of mechanisation”.

“States have reported to have/access to more than 5000 standard septic tank vehicles, over 1100 Hydrovac, and more than 1000 desilting machines,” the Minister said.

Under the ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013’, manual scavenging can be defined as “a person engaged or employed by an individual or a local authority or a public or private agency, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit, or on a railway track”.

Manual scavenging is banned in India. In 1993, the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act was introduced. Later, the Central government introduced the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

Last week, Athawale informed the Rajya Sabha that 377 people have died from 2019 to 2023 from hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. He added that there is no report of the practice of manual scavenging in the country.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has also advised the Urban Local Bodies to incorporate in their bylaws BIS 2470 standards for septic tanks and enforce the same while giving building permissions.

“Advisories have also been issued to provide safety gears to workers, provide helpline facilities for emergency desludging, and also take up IEC activities,” the Minister said.